Studies on the Utilization of Marble Dust, Bagasse Ash, and Paddy Straw Wastes to Improve the Mechanical Characteristics of Unfired Soil Blocks

Tarun Sharma, Sandeep Singh, Shubham Sharma (), Aman Sharma, Anand Kumar Shukla, Changhe Li, Yanbin Zhang and Elsayed Mohamed Tag Eldin ()
Additional contact information
Tarun Sharma: Department of Civil Engineering, Chandigarh University, Mohali 140413, India
Sandeep Singh: Department of Civil Engineering, University Center for Research and Development, Chandigarh University, Mohali 140413, India
Shubham Sharma: Mechanical Engineering Department, University Center for Research and Development, Chandigarh University, Mohali 140413, India
Aman Sharma: Department of Mechanical Engineering, GLA University, Mathura 281406, India
Anand Kumar Shukla: Chandigarh School of Business, Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Jhanjheri, Mohali 140308, India
Changhe Li: School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
Yanbin Zhang: School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
Elsayed Mohamed Tag Eldin: Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Future University in Egypt, New Cairo 11835, Egypt

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-24

Abstract: Earthen materials are the world’s oldest and cheapest construction materials. Compacted soil stabilised blocks are unfired admixed soil blocks made up of soil plus stabilisers such as binders, fibres, or a combination of both. The manufacturing and usage of cement and cement blocks raises a number of environmental and economic challenges. As a result, researchers are attempting to develop an alternative to cement blocks, and various tests on unfired admixed soil blocks have been performed. This investigation undertakes use of agricultural waste (i.e., paddy straw fiber and sugarcane bagasse ash) and industrial waste (i.e., marble dust) in manufacturing unfired admixed soil blocks. The applicability of unfired soil blocks admixed with marble dust, paddy straw fiber, and bagasse ash were studied. The marble dust level ranged from 25% to 35%, the bagasse ash content ranged from 7.5% to 12.5%, and the content of paddy straw fibre ranged from 0.8% to 1.2% by soil dry weight. Various tests were conducted on 81 mix designs of the prepared unfired admixed soil blocks to determine the mechanical properties of the blocks, followed by modeling and optimization. The characterization of the materials using XRD and XRF and of the specimens using SEM and EDS were performed for the mineral constituents and microstructural analysis. The findings demonstrate that the suggested method is a superior alternative to burned bricks for improving the mechanical properties of unfired admixed soil blocks.

Keywords: tensile strength; flexural strength; paddy straw; marble dust; soil block (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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